Raymond Edwin Hammeras

November 8, 1925 - March 26, 2020

Our father Ray Hammeras passed away Thursday March 26, 2020. We were able to spend time with him in the days and weeks leading up to his death. As in life he passed with grace and dignity and a little bit of surprise. Dad was so strong physically and the hospice nurse attending him near the end said he was resting comfortably and she did not see the need to give him pain medicine. She thought he might live for a week or longer. The next day Dad passed in the afternoon to all our surprise. He has now joined our mother (Emilie) Jean Ferris Hammeras and it’s as if the circle is complete.

Although he lived most of his life in Southern California, Dad was born November 8, 1925 in New York City where his father (whom we called Eddy because Eddy told us to) was on location filming. He was the first of three children born to Edwin and Helen Alsdurf Hammeras. They soon returned to Los Angeles where he was introduced to adoring grandparents, aunts, uncles and many cousins. Dad made friends wherever he was. He attended Emerson Jr High in Westwood (where he first met our mother). He became life-long friends with the guys he sat with alphabetically in their 7th grade Home Room: Bob Hawkins, Stan Harkins and George Herrmann. Dad played basketball and tennis at Eagle Rock High School. In 1942 he entered Cal Tech and after one semester joined the Navy at age 18, where he trained to be a Naval Aviator. He graduated from flight school in TX just as World War II ended. After returning from the Navy, Dad continued to serve in the Navel Reserves and kept his flight hours up while attending UCLA. He frequently buzzed Royce Hall where his girlfriend Jeany Ferris (our Mom), also a UCLA student, worked for basketball coach John Wooden. We think Mom made him quit the reserves shortly after.

He rejoined his childhood friends Bob Hawkins and Stan Harkins at UCLA and enrolled in UCLA’s charter engineering class. The friends all pledged Beta Theta Pi where Dad met another life-long friend, Roy Gaunt. Ray and Roy continued a tradition of attending UCLA football games as they held season tickets for more than 50 years. They along with their families attended most of the UCLA football games. This tradition became a part of the lives of all his children and many of his grandchildren and even some of his great grandchildren. Dad was also an avid tennis player, golfer, runner and deep-sea fisherman. He enjoyed fishing with his father from a very young age, traveling from Los Angeles down the virtually uninhabited Newport Peninsula to the Balboa Pavilion. As an adult he took his children and grandchildren on fishing trips both in the ocean as well as camping/fishing trips to fresh water lakes. Dad always enjoyed teaching children and we all learned many lessons from fishing such as patience and relaxation. He liked to say “there’s fishing and there’s catching” to emphasize the relational aspect of life. He enjoyed eating the fish he caught and his family did too. He often mused to our mom “Jeany, if times get tough, we can always get a trailer in Ensenada and catch our own food!”

He married Jeany in 1947. Mom always wanted children and children she got! They had twins in 1950 Karen Zfaty, Lynn (who is married to Kathy White). Kent was born in 1951 (who is married to Lori Yamashita) making it 3 children in 11 months. The party wasn’t over though as Tod (who is married to Candy Jones) was a surprise arrival in 1956. Kristin (who is married to Ross Hogarth) was born in 1958 and was the planned designated playmate for Tod (as Mom told it).

Our parents loved children and made it clear that they loved us. They were also blessed with seven grandchildren; Isaac Zfaty (who is married to Megan Power) of the Karen Zfaty Clan; John and Summer Hammeras of the Kent and Lori Hammeras Clan, Jackie Roll, Grant Roll (who is married to Ashley Miller), Emilie Amigliore (who is married to Blayne Amigliore) of the Tod and Candy Hammeras Clan and Brady Hogarth of the Kristin and Ross Hogarth Clan and four great granddaughters: Charlotte Zfaty, Ruby & Eloise Amigliore, and Emmelyn Roll. Our Parents enjoyed 66 years together before Mom passed in 2013. Both our parents were proud of us and made it known that they loved us very much.

Dad’s favorite form of recreation was anything that involved his children and/or grandchildren. He cheered them all on, supporting them at athletic events, musical performances, and school events. All birthdays and holidays were celebrated with large family gatherings. Dad and Mom loved music, particularly Swing Era and Musical Theater.

Dad began his engineering career at RCA, where he worked with Fred Bowdish and Alma Lundamo, two friends with family ties going back to the old country (Norway). A short time later, he was gratuitously given a partial formula for a brake treatment product used to dissipate heat and reduce brake “fade,” by neighbor who was retired and didn’t want to complete the work. Dad developed the product and acquired a patent on it. The product was called Cop-Sil-Loy, and soon Dad and partners had formed a business of the same name. He left RCA to manage the new firm, bringing his friends Fred Bowdish and Alma Lundamo with him. Another member of the group was Donald Marr Nelson, who had gained renown during World War II as the head of the nation’s War Production Board.

As the Fifties progressed, the business expanded, but trouble lay on the horizon. Cop-Sil-Loy held its market share for a while, but some large corporations with similar products and plenty of capital were entering the field. The firm suffered a blow in 1959 when Donald Nelson died of a stroke. Within months, plans were made to wrap up the enterprise.

The wild ride of operating a small business while raising a family of five children made the steady pay (and the health insurance!) of a large corporation attractive. That’s what Dad found at North American Aviation (1960). There, he was immediately recognized as a manager, with his love of people and meticulous attention to detail, and was sent to Falls Church, VA to oversee the acquisition of a small business. He managed many interesting projects at Rockwell, including the development of guidance systems for Minuteman Missiles and the earliest space exploration activities. The family spent their two years in VA reveling in the historic sights of the original 13 colonies and the nation’s capital. We drove a lot of places and sometimes for very long periods of time which can be challenging with 5 children under 12 in the car. In order to pass the time Dad would lead us in singing old War songs and school fight songs and just fun songs that we loved and cherished over the years.

Returning to California in 1963, the family settled in Newport Beach. In 1984, he took early retirement from Rockwell and joined another good friend and neighbor Mike Johnson to form what eventually became the third largest public retirement system in California. He and Mike led Public Agency Retirement Services (PARS) for 15 years, ultimately turning its leadership over to the next generation.

Ray served as an Elder and sang in the choir at St Andrew’s Presbyterian Church in Newport Beach for 15 years. After moving to Irvine, he and Jeany attended Presbyterian Church of the Master in Mission Viejo for 15 years. The last years of their lives, they were beloved members of St Mary’s Episcopal Church in Laguna Beach. Ray and Jeany enjoyed several trips to Europe, Australia and Central America in their retirement - and always concluded that they were very fortunate to live in a most wonderful place.

He was preceded in death by Jeany, his sister Helen and his parents. Ray is survived by his children, grandchildren and great granddaughters, his sister Janet Walsh, and many nieces, nephews and cousins.

He lived a life of love and kindness. All who knew him loved him – and he loved them. He had an uncanny ability to see the very best in everyone and encouraged them to become the very best they could be. We will miss him always and will do our best to carry on his legacy of faith, hope, love and joy.